“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye HAVE eternal life.” 1 John 5:1313And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. (John 5:13). Man’s imagination often misquotes it like this: “These happy feelings have I given you that believe on the name of the Son of God that ye may know that ye have eternal life.” Read the verse again. Now read Exodus 12:1-131And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 10And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's passover. 12For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. 13And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:1‑13), the story of the passover and judgment in Egypt.
Let us visit two of their houses and hear what they are saying. In the first house they are all shivering with fear and uncertainty. We ask, “What is the reason for all this trembling and fear?” The firstborn informs us that the Lord God is coming through the land this night and the firstborn are going to be killed.
“But hasn’t the God of Israel given you a way to escape that judgment?”
“Yes,” he replies, “we have done what He requires. The blood of the year-old, spotless lamb has been sprinkled with a bunch of hyssop on the lintel and side posts of our door. But I’ll be glad when this night of judgment is over. Only then will I be sure and know that I am safe. Those next door say they are sure that it is all right and that they are safe. But we think it is very presumptuous. Nobody can be sure.”
We go next door and what a contrast! Joy beams from every face. All are fully dressed, ready to leave at a moment’s notice, enjoying the roast lamb.
“How can you be so happy on such a night as this?” we ask.
“Ah,” they say, “we are only waiting for the Lord’s marching orders, and then we shall leave Egypt and these cruel taskmasters, free from slavery.”
“But what about the judgment? Aren’t you afraid?”
“Well, we know it, but our firstborn is safe. The blood of the lamb has been sprinkled according to the command of our God.”
“It has been next door, too,” we reply, “but they are all worried and unhappy because they are not sure of safety.”
“Ah,” responds the firstborn firmly, “but we not only have the blood sprinkled on the door, but we have the WORD of God about it. God has said, ‘When I see the blood, I will pass over you.’ God is satisfied with the blood outside, and we rest satisfied with His Word inside.”
The sprinkled blood makes us safe.
The spoken word makes us sure.
Let us ask you a question. “Which of those two houses do you think was safer?” Do you say house two where they are so happy? Then you are wrong. Both are equally safe. Their safety depends on what God thinks about the BLOOD outside and not on the state of their feelings inside. If you want to be sure of your own blessing, don’t listen to your unstable inward feelings and emotions but to the true witness of the Word of God. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on ME HATH [has] everlasting life.” John 6:4747Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (John 6:47).
God says it!
I believe it.
That settles it!
Is your confidence in the right person — in Jesus, the Son of God? It is not a question of the amount or kind of faith, but of the trustworthiness of the person you put your faith in. One man may hold Christ with the grip of a drowning man and another only touches the hem of His garment; both are equally safe. That is what is meant by believing on HIM.
“I do really believe on Him, but I don’t like to say, ‘I’m saved,’ for fear I should be telling a lie.”
Suppose I ask a child how old he is and he tells me he is twelve. You come along and ask me how old that child is and I tell you, “I don’t like to say, for fear I should be telling a lie.” “But,” you say, “that would be making the child a liar.” And so it would. But aren’t you virtually making Christ a liar if you don’t like to say you’re saved for fear of telling a lie, when Christ Himself has said, “He that believeth on ME HATH everlasting life”?
“But how may I be sure that I really do believe? I have tried often to believe and looked within to see if I had gotten it, but the more I look at my faith, the less I seem to have.”
Suppose a man comes to you who is always telling jokes and playing tricks, and he tells you that half the town is on fire. Do you believe, or even try to believe, that man? Of course not. You know him too well. But now suppose that, instead of this man, it was one who is most trustworthy, a person who had never deceived you or tried to play a trick on you, and he brings you the same sad news. Do you believe him?
“Yes, definitely,” you say, “I believe him, because of his trustworthy character.”
“How do you know that you believe him?”
“Because of who and what he is.”
“That is just why we can believe the gospel, because of the One who brings me the news.”
Jesus said, “He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” John 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24). “He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar.” 1 John 5:1010The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. (John 5:10).
Do you say, “I can’t believe”? Well, who is it you can’t believe? Faith is confidence in the living person of the Lord Jesus Christ who finished the work of redemption on the cross of Calvary.
His finished work makes me eternally safe; His Word about those who believe on Him makes me sure. I find in Christ and His work the WAY of salvation, and in the Word of God the KNOWLEDGE of salvation.
But if you are saved, you may say, “How is it that I have such ups and downs, often losing all my joy and comfort and getting as miserable and downcast as I was before my conversion?” This brings us to our third point: